Imagine Dragons
by toughenough23
Summary: SUMMARY: Brad Hunter thought he was getting the call to NXT, but was sent to the main roster instead. Follow him as makes his way through the locker room trials. EVENTUAL SLASH!


**SUMMARY: Brad Hunter thought he was getting the call to NXT, but was sent to the main roster instead. Follow him as makes his way through the locker room. EVENTUAL SLASH!**

**Rating: M for future chapters for language, sexual content and alcohol use.**

**Warnings: I don't own anyone except Brad Hunter. Also, if you don't like slash, then don't read, although it won't be for many chapters.**

Sweat was dripping down the face of Brad Hunter as he walked from the entrance stage to the gorilla area. He had just wrestled Kassius Ohno at FCW Wrestling, and had gotten the win, in the dark match. In recent months, Hunter had begun gaining steam in the wrestling world, being compared to such greats as Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Ricky Steamboat. Hunter was 6'4", 250lbs and was physically imposing. Chiseled physique, short brown hair and hazel eyes, he was considered one of the most attractive wrestlers on the roster.

As Hunter walked into the locker room area, Ohno approached him and offered his hand. Hunter took the hand and shook it, a showing of mutual respect between peers. Brad turned around was staring directly in the face of Seth Rollins, the NXT Champion. Rollins nodded in his direction before speaking to him.

"Hey man. Good match out there tonight. By the way, Steve was looking for you. I suggest you go see him." Rollins said as he placed his championship into his suitcase. Hunter thanked him and walked out of the locker room area and walked in the direction of Steve Keirn's office, the president of Florida Championship Wrestling. Brad got to the door, and hesitated before knocking.

"Come in!"

He opened the door and walked in, using the towel that was wrapped around his shoulders to wipe his face. There were three chairs in front of Steve's desk, and from where Brad was standing, it looked like two of them were filled. Steve stood up, as did the other two people in the room. Brad's eyes widened as his eyes came to rest on John Laurinaitis, the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations for the WWE. He had met John once before, when he signed his contract to wrestle for the WWE, before being sent down to FCW, two years ago. Brad's eyes wandered to the other person and his eyes landed on Paul Levesque, known to the wrestling world as Triple H, the Chief Operating Officer of the WWE, who has taken a much more hands-on approach with new talent. Triple H stepped forward and extended his hand to Brad.

"Paul Levesque, but please, call me Paul, or even Hunter. It's nice to meet you!" Triple H said as he sat down in his chair. Laurinaitis followed, as did Keirn. Brad took the last remaining chair, and sat down, unsure of what was going on.

"I bet you are wondering why we're here, aren't you?" Laurinaitis asked, and Brad laughed. He truly had no idea what was happening.

"Yeah, I was. I don't have a clue what's going on." Brad replied honestly, wiping his face with his towel again.

"Let's start with some facts. Ever since being signed to FCW, you've wrestled approximately 63 times, recording fifty-five wins, and eight losses, not including tonight's win. I shudder to think about that record, had your rotator cuff not have torn. But we're glad to see you have rebounded from that injury. Originally, we came here to tell you that you would be the next NXT Champion, but things have changed." Triple H said. Brad was devastated. What did he do wrong? His lifetime goal was to become the World Heavyweight Champion, and even though it was NXT… it's still a world championship.

"What happened to those plans? Seth and I would put on great matches, I think." Brad replied, his heart quickly rising.

"And without a doubt, you would do that. You two could put NXT on the map as THE place for the best in-ring action of the world. And Seth will do that, but with other opponents." Laurinaitis replied. Brad was confused. Why were they taking his opportunities away?

"But, we didn't come here to tell you what we were going to do; we're here to tell you what we are doing." Triple H reached down to a briefcase on the floor, and pulled out a manila folder, and placed it on the desk, before sliding it to Brad. "Inside is a contract, to be signed to Monday Night Raw, effective immediately. We sent the Undertaker down here a couple of weeks ago to do a signing, and scout possible talent, and he highly recommended you. Coming from the Undertaker, we knew you were something special."

Suddenly, Brad Hunter's head was spinning. In a matter of moments, he thought his job was at stake, only to find out that the COO of the WWE wanted to offer him a promotion to the flagship brand! Brad didn't know what to think.

"If you so choose to accept the terms of this contract, you will be coming on a plane with us to Oklahoma, where Raw is taking place next week." Laurinaitis said, offering a smile towards the man who is, hopefully, his newest signee.

"I only have one question about all of this. What is my storyline? What am I going to be doing? Not that I mind, but I'd like to know if I'm going to be fed to Ryback, or reduced to standing in the background of segments." Brad replied, hoping he didn't step over any unspoken boundaries by saying that.

Triple H smiled widely at this. "I thought you'd never ask. As you know, Hell in a Cell is quickly approaching, and Cena is hurt. We had Ryback penciled in to face the Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, but we may pull the trigger on Ryback versus Punk for the WWE Championship. This leaves the Miz without an opponent… which is where you would come in. We have the second Miz TV scheduled for next week, and guess who the guest is going to be? You are. That will carry us into Hell in a Cell, where we will crown a new Intercontinental Champion!"

"You're kidding me!" Brad exclaimed. The look on everyone's faces told him that they weren't kidding at all. He reached for the folder and opened it up, only to be met with a huge WWE symbol at the top of the contract. His name was written in a neat cursive at the top left of the page. He quickly glanced through it, before picking the pen up and signing his name, before he woke up from this dream.

Triple H seemed satisfied. He stood up and offered his hand to Brad, who also stood up and accepted the handshake.

"Welcome to Monday Night Raw, kid."

It had been nearly a week since Brad Hunter had met with WWE officials, and his dream was about to become a reality, as he pulled up to the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. His luggage with his wrestling gear and his suits were in the passenger seat next to him. He parked his car in the corner of the parking lot, away from every other car, and took it in, taking deep breaths. He finally exited his car and grabbed his rolling suitcase and walked towards the arena. Wearing a white long sleeved shirt, and black Adidas track pants, he looked like any other guy. He entered the arena and looked around, it looked pretty deserted for a place that will soon hold over twenty-thousand fans. He's eyes landed on a crew worker, and he walked over and approached him.

"Hey man, this is my first day as a Raw superstar… can you tell me where Triple H's office is? I was supposed to check in with him." Brad asked the worker.

"Oh… you're the new kid? Yeah, Paul's office is right around this corner to your left." The worker said before turning his back to him.

Brad was surprised. He didn't expect this kind of reception. Not that he knew what to expect, but he didn't expect the workers in the back to be short with him. And what did he mean by the new kid? Brad shrugged it off to the guy's mood, and walked around the corner. He scaled the left side of the wall, before finding a door labeled 'Triple H – Chief Operating Officer." He knocked twice, and received a "come in!" Brad opened the door and stepped in, to find Triple H staring at him from his desk. The Game stood up and offered his hand, and Brad took it and shook it.

"Glad you could make it. Did you bring your wrestling gear?" Triple H asked.

"Of course. Why?"

"Well Miz TV is set to begin at the 9 o'clock hour, with you interrupting. We're going to have you lay him out, and then we'll do a segment where Miz complains to AJ Lee about you, and she'll put you in a match against Heath Slater, which you'll win. We're going to try and make you look as good as you possibly can tonight, Brad." Triple H responded enthusiastically. "Now, it's time for you to go introduce yourself to the locker room. The locker room is directly down this hall to the left. Make sure you shake everyone's hands, and I'll see you and Miz later tonight to discuss your segment. "

Brad nodded his agreement and stood up. He walked towards the door, when he heard his boss' voice again.

"Wait. Be wary of everyone, Brad. I've been in that locker room since 1995, I know how people are. People have chips on their shoulder, and people don't take kindly to new people coming in and taking their spots. Not everyone will be as nice as they seem."

And with that, Triple H turned back to his paperwork, leaving Brad confused for the second time in a handful of minutes. He left the office of the COO and walked to the locker room, which was exactly where Triple H said it would be. Brad couldn't shake his nerves, as he turned the knob and walked in. He was immediately met with the sounds of talking, metal clanging, and zippers opening.

"Look, everyone. The new kid is here." A voice said, and Brad couldn't place the voice to a face. He looked up, as realized the voice had to belong to Alberto Del Rio, who was walking over to him.

"So, you are the one that the Undertaker handpicked from FCW? You are the one that impressed Mark Calaway." Alberto said, and Brad couldn't detect the tone of his voice. In the back of his head, he couldn't get out what Triple H had just said to him.

"_Not everyone will be as nice as they seem."_

Regardless, Brad offered his hand to Alberto Del Rio, in a show of respect. Del Rio looked down at his hand, before scoffing and walking past him, out of the locker room. Brad slowly lowered his hand, just as another person approached him.

"Well, if the Undertaker personally picked you, you must be good. The name is CM Punk, but you can call me Phil. I'm the WWE Champion. I've seen some of your stuff. Not bad. "

Brad was shocked. The WWE Champion had just come over to him, and not only introduced himself, but gave Brad a compliment. He smiled back and extended his hand, and Punk took it and shook his hand. Punk patted him on the shoulder and went back to what he was doing. He went up to everyone and shook their hands. No one was as blatantly rude as Alberto Del Rio, but some did not seem to want him there, at all. Brad shrugged it off and placed his luggage down, before he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with the Miz, the man who would be his first Raw feud.

"It's nice to finally put a face to the man who will be taking my Intercontinental Championship from me. Nice to meet you, I'm Mike Mizanin, known as the Miz, but please, call me Mike." The Miz said, offering his hand to Brad, which Brad accepted.

"It's nice to meet you, too. This whole thing is crazy." Brad replied with a laugh.

"I agree. Triple H wants to speak with us. Our segment is almost up!" And with that, the two of them went to find the COO.

The segment went off without a hitch. The Miz was screaming about losing to Ryback last week, and about how he was a veteran and deserved much better than the treatment he was receiving, when an electric guitar sounded over the loudspeaker, and Brad Hunter made his debut in the WWE. He told the Miz that he was the next big thing, and the Miz laughed in his face. Brad went to leave, and the Miz tried for a Skull-Crushing Finale, only for Hunter to reverse it, and deliver a Superkick! As the Miz stood up, the newcomer picked him up and hit him with a suplex stunner, which he dubbed the Paralyzer! Brad stood in the ring as Raw went to a commercial. As they came back live, the Miz was complaining to AJ Lee, and AJ booked a match between Brad and Heath Slater, which Brad won in three minutes with the Paralyzer!

As Brad walked from backstage, he was riding a high that was nothing like he had ever experienced before. As his match had aired during the ten o'clock hour, most of the locker room was either showering, packing, or had already left for Smackdown. It wasn't customary to wait around for anyone, and especially as he was riding alone, he could leave. He took a quick shower, packed his bags and left the arena, as the final segment of the night was going on, with CM Punk, Paul Heyman, John Cena and Ryback. Brad walked out to his car, and reached for his keys, only to see them, dangling from the ignition. He tried the doors, but they were locked.

"Of course they fucking are."

A thought came to his head… he would just break the window. He's a WWE Superstar now, he'll be able to take care of the damages. He had his elbow ready to break the window, when someone's voice echoed out.

"What are you doing? Get in."

The voice startled him, and he turned into the stare of icy blue eyes. He turned into the stare of Randy Orton.

**Just wanted to introduce everything in this chapter, first. There is no slash, YET, but there will be hints next chapter! Review, tell me if you like it, give me ideas on who you want coupled and what not! Thanks! **


End file.
